- Date
- May 28, 1989, 19:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Churchville, MD
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N1124SSchweizer I-26E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 11, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890528012899A
- Case key
- 11501
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the turn from base to final approach which resulted in the wing contacting the ground and the glider cartwheeling.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
After soaring for aprx 45 minutes the student glider plt realized that he could not obtain enough lift to return to the arpt. He selected an open field to land in. A witness stated that it was obvious the plt would not be able to clear obstacles prior to reaching the field. He stated that the glider was descending toward the field and the right wing dropped slightly. The glider then flipped sharply to the right, impacted the ground and cartwheeled.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1124S
- Reported as
- Schweizer I-26E
- Category
- Glider
- Serial number
- 512
- Engine
- None NONE, unknown
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sean Livingston
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- OW3 · Churchville, MD
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 62
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 1,377 total · 7 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 315° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.